Castle Durrow is a country house in Durrow, County Laois

Durrow, County Laois

Durrow is a small town located in south County Laois, Ireland. Bypassed by the M8 motorway on 28 May 2010, the town is located on the R639 road at its junction with the N77. The river Erkina flows through Durrow and joins the River Nore about 1.5 km east of the town...

 Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, built between 1712-1716 by Colonel William Flower

William Flower, 1st Baron Castle Durrow

William Flower, 1st Baron Castle Durrow PC was an Irish peer and politician.He was the only son of Thomas Flower and his wife Mary Temple, daughter of Sir John Temple, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. Flower was educated at Christ Church College, Oxford and sat as Member of Parliament for...

(later to become Baron Castle Durrow) as a family home. The house was built in the pre-Palladian design and formal gardens that was popular in the 18th century and is considered one of the finest country houses in Laois. The Flower family retained ownership of the estate until 1922. The house was transformed into a school in 1929 and in 1998 was purchased and redeveloped as a luxury hotel.